It happens occasionally that only one or two rows of plants at the edge of a field remain standing during the harvest of stalk-like crop, for example, during the harvest of silage corn. These plant rows can be cut and drawn in only by the outer mowing and intake drums of the machine. With a very wide machine (for example, in a configuration encompassing eight or ten plant rows) the plants must be transported over a longer path through the transverse conveying channel to the center of the machine. Since no further plants are being supplied to the central mowing and intake drums, the plants that have been cut are not retained in the transverse conveying channel by material entering the transverse conveying channel, but lie relatively loosely in it. Due to a high center of gravity, the plants can constantly bend downward during the transport in the transverse conveying channel and then slide out of the transverse conveying channel with their lower ends. In a configuration according to EP 1 177 718 A, slope conveyor drums with approximately vertical axes of rotation are arranged at the side of the intake channel for the purpose of conveying the plants into the intake channel. However, the slope conveyor drums are not in a position to grasp the plants that extend with their lower ends projecting out of the transverse conveying channel. These plants lie across the inlet of the transverse conveyor drum and block any further flow of the crop. The clamping effect could be improved by narrowing the transverse conveying channel, but problems with the throughput will occur during normal operation, that is, when plants are being supplied over the entire width of the machine.
To solve this problem, EP 1 177 718 A proposes a conveying arrangement that is driven in rotation above the intake channel and located ahead of the transverse conveying channel in the direction of operation, which conveys plants that emerge from the transverse conveying channel again into the latter. The conveying arrangement is brought into rotation about a preferably horizontal axis, that extends transverse to the direction of operation. Its speed must therefore be sufficient to bring the plants again into the transverse conveying channel. When plants come to lie on the conveying arrangement, the conveying effect of the conveying arrangement relies only on the force of gravity, which may not be adequate in some cases, since the conveying arrangement slides along the plants.